Defcon 1
by kimvana000
Summary: My own retelling of the original 1987 Wasteland using the characters I rolled. I'm writing this just for fun and practice but I will still try hard to be faithful and write well. Rated M for swearing, sex, violence, and drugs. This is the nuclear apocalypse after all, so please enjoy.
1. Prologue

Defcon One

Prologue

The location: Planet Earth in the year 1998.

* * *

The Defense Condition declared to be one. The armies were at peak readiness and nuclear war had broken out. Solutions deemed diplomatic to the world's crisis succumbed to failure and war erupts as madmen press onward with their dreams of further mayhem. High concentrations of radioactivity produce random storms and leave people and animals mutated. Somehow, life continues in the Wasteland.

Tensions between The USSR and The USA escalated with the coming year. The Citadel Starstation was said to be completely functional by the third month. The Soviet allegation that the space station was that of a launching platform poured consternation into the hearts of the non-aligned nations. More conservative governments based in the South and Central Americas, much of them set up in the duration of the Drug Wars spanning from 1987 to 1993, pledged their support to The United States. The NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] Nations, including the newly joined members from Africa, also declared their alliance with the U.S. That move was the driving point which compelled the nations that were once considered neutral to side with the Soviet protest. In the 6 short weeks following, Switzerland, Sweden, and Ireland were the only nations left with neutrality. A fortnight before Citadel was due for full operation, the Station transmitted a signal expressing distress.

Instantaneously after the signal was sent out, nearly all the satellites orbiting the planet had been disintegrated entirely from the sky, leaving the great powers without guidance. In great dismay, each military launched 90% of their nuclear arsenals skyward. Although the annihilation was tremendous, it did not kill off all life. Pockets of civilization remained intact, some totally oblivious any Holocaust occurred at all. On the same day The US and Soviet Union were attempting to extinguish each other, company of US Army engineers inhabited the southwestern deserts constructing bridges for transport over riverbeds long since dried. The engineers worked deeply into the inhospitable desert valleys, encased by several communities on the mission for survival. To the location directly south of the building sites that day, was a newly erected federal prison. With the penitentiary housing the criminals condemned to death, it also contained facilities to manufacture industrial lighting. Not long after the nuclear exchange that the engineers seeking shelter overran the prison and expelled the convicts to the barren Wasteland to carry out their sentences. As ongoing weeks came and went, local bands of survivalists were recruited to join the newfound shelter and construct an improved society. Because of each community having suspicions about one another, times were arduous in the beginning. But, as time passed, trust nurtured in this settlement, which became known by the name of Ranger Center, proved to be worthy of repelling even the most rancorous of criminals from reclaiming what was rightfully theirs once.

The residents of Ranger Center, after first believing they were the only survivors after the nuclear maelstrom, soon stumbled upon the realization that communities beyond the desert's grip had also survived. Because such success was to be had in the construction of a brand new community, many felt obligated to lend help to other survivalists and maintain a sense of peace. Toward this end, the Desert Rangers, in the great tradition of the Texas and Arizona Rangers a century before, were born.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
89 years later in 2087, Ranger Center generals were pondering as well as debating over the next course of action to take, given the insight they had received from a soldier, whom was long deceased. A product of absolute chaos was spotted at the very northwest of Las Vegas coved by mountains. Although the training facility was days away from the, now recognized threat, advancements in technology gave them the ability to sense and detect change from up to a thousand mile radius. A Private was given the task to scope out the area that emerged. The man who displayed high bravery sent one last message on his issued radio before slipping from consciousness and passing away. "Th-They're trying to..." He coughed. "Abolish all o-of humanity..." The worn out soldier rasped one last phrase before all contact was lost: "R-Replace us completely-" A General breathed a long, downhearted sigh.  
"I was afraid this would occur." Four-Star General Smith slowly waved his head from side to side in both disbelief and anguish with the recent knowledge of his fear becoming reality. "We have no choice but to train and send out four Privates from our facility." The bulky man's voice had a bulletproof severity to it. He turned from a 3D map on a super-computer to the lengthy, rectangular meeting table.  
A Lieutenant General stood from his chair. "Why don't we just bomb the place?" The figurehead roared and made direct eye contact with the higher ranking male. He was first to express his opinion more than not and he was as agile as he was dexterous. This Lieutenant General was always regarded 'sudden as lightening.'  
"Surge!" The Four-Star hollered back. "You must be absolutely joking." Smith paced closer to the small assembly, his eyes squinted at the only one standing beside himself. "Do you want to bring more attention to us and have those monstrosities try to invade us for vengeance!? The last thing we need is to make the desert even more desolate and radioactive." The General glanced over the map once more and directed his attention back to his fellow soldiers. "I believe... No, I know who we should send."  
With a few terminal commands, the Ranger Center's super-computer switched to a camera in one of the plethora of bunk rooms. If Smith wasn't on the map, he was observing the Rangers. This view presented one of the more modest bunking areas and four young adults could be seen. One woman and three men all under the age of 25 made up the group. They had only been at the Ranger Center for a year and much was still to be learned for the recent survivalists.  
The young lady, Kim, was on her government issued laptop reading up on the effects of radiation on the human body, she was speaking to the Native American boy, Tony, and pointing at the screen. Tony was the cook and medic of the group, but was the most weary of the four. Gaining his trust took effort and sympathy, but he was a loyal soldier once the young man learned to trust you. Tony had also studied conputers during his time at the Ranger Center. He knew almost all the terminal commands for running programs and hacking. Next was a Mexican-American boy named Ricardo who had useful business and financial knowledge. Taking apart and examining computers and mechanisms was his specialty. He was wheelchair-bound due to a rare spinal condition called 'Spina Bifida', tho he never gave up.. He had outstanding arm strength to make up for his lower half and he could bust down a door or pick it with ease. The last notable soldier was a young Canadian man by the name of Tim whom was sly and a smooth talker. He understood when to be quiet and soft-footed. Canada joined NATO many years prior and forned an alliance with the USA. When it was known America had a shortage of fighters, they gladly selected highly trained soliders to help in the fight for the Wasteland.  
"Sir! They are merely children and will perish quicker than the first man we sent." General Devita piped up. "These Privates need heavy training if we were to send them to the northwest."  
"Did you type in the wrong commands?" Surge butted in. "These are nobody pipsqueaks!" With that being said, the rest of the Generals all started to rant and rave while Smith still kept the people he chose on the monitor.  
"I am not a Four-Star General for sending out shit!" Smith's voice rose and everyone fell silent. "I have been keeping a very sharp eye on these personnel." The muscular leader spoke much more calmly once all the others regained their bearings. "The young woman, Kimberly Vana, she knows a lot about artillery, medicine, computers, and she teaches important skills through research." General Smith cleared this thoat. "Tony knows where to find food and cook it, he also understands computers and medicine. That will be life saving if once were to lose consciousness." The others in the room stayed silent, listening with intent. "Ricardo know how to handle money and reason with people. He used to run a business before all went to hell. His legs may not work, but his arms more than make up for it." Lastly, Smith directed their attention to Tim. "Tim can pick locks and is incredibly stealthy. He and Ricardo are both charismatic in their own ways. This makes handling folks a whole hell of a lot." The others at the meeting table were still skeptical, seeing this the general continued. "As you may clearly see, each has important skills to help aid in suvival. Of course, because of the training provided here, they all can use guns and melee weapons superbly.."  
The others present looked around from one another, quite unsure if their general still had any sanity or not. Yes, it was true the Privates were trained, but tthey were stil young and had much more to train and learn. They were all merely twenty except for Tim, he was twenty four. Thr Ranger Center tired several times to test Wasteland survival and none of the soldiers lived through it. They had all be radiated or eaten by mutants.  
"Are we really going to be sending a Canuck and an android out there?" A General at the chair nearest the entrance asked without much thought into speaking.  
"How many pebbles are shaking around in your skull right now, Thomas?" General Smith growled. "Canadians are well disciplined and that other boy is no android! He has a human brain, not wires and circuitry! Just because he's in a nuclear powered chair, does not mean he is an android." The Four-Starred man seemed disappointed in everyone in the vicinity . "Ricardo was given a choice between electronic legs or a power-chair with several built-in features." Smith sighed in frustration with having to explain such a simple concept to his inferiors. He switched back to the holographic map of the desert on their mainframe and stared into the technologically generated fallout for a good moment before speaking up. The others stayed silent as their boss was in deep thought, not figuring what else to do.  
"We don't tell them their true mission. They will be dispatched and told to investigate local surroundings. I have full trust that they will figure out the truth and neutralize the main enemy. Kim, Tony, Ricardo, and Tim are all astute and inquisitive." He spoke low, but serious. "If they knew, they wouldn't step foot outside of camp."  
"General Smith, they have never even stepped foot out of the compound!" Devita pleaded once more. "We should send out Corporals, not Privates!" She raised her head to meet the General's harsh eyes, hoping to get through to him.  
"That's the point! They know nothing of the Wasteland. These soldiers are curious, and wish to explore. I can tell when my soldiers become tired of this place. Even I do."

Smith waved a hand of dismissal. "This meeting is over! We will send them out in only two days. It's short notice, but the quicker we send them out, the faster that damned thing self destructs!" The burly General pounded a tightly closed fist into his open palm as the last sentence finished.  
"But Sir," a cadet blurted. Do they even know how to access the base?"  
General Smith turned back to meet his eyes. "They'll find out soon enough. Patience."


End file.
